Ireland’s Mark Rohan was been voted the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) athlete of the month for September.
The award is regarded as being very prestigious because all paralympic athletes from all sports globally are eligible to win.
It was voted for around the world on Facebook and follows Rohan’s capturing of two gold medals at the UCI Paracycling Road World Championships in Roskilde, Denmark, last month.
Rohan beat British rower Tom Aggar, US cyclist Allison Jones, Germany’s women’s wheelchair basketball team and Britain’s men’s wheelchair basketball team by picking up 74 per cent of the vote on Facebook.
He said he was thrilled with how the past few months have gone.
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“I was absolutely delighted to retain the road world title and to win the time trial. It also meant that I 'd gained qualification for the London 2012 Paralympics, so it was a bonus. It was amazing.”
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Rohan came to cycling after a road traffic accident in 2001 put an end to his footballing career when it left him in a wheelchair.
He had represented Westmeath footballers at U21 level but has now emerged as Ireland’s best ever paracyclist, despite only starting paracycling in 2007 and embarking on his international career in 2009.
He won the H1 road race at the 2010 World Championships and all four events during the 2011 World Cup series before taking two golds at last month’s World Championships.
He won the rainbow jersey in the H1 handcycling road race and time trial in Denmark. He is now targeting gold in the London 2012 Paralympics.
“It will not be easy. I know that there are five, six, seven guys there that can beat me on any given day. I know that especially with the paralympics coming around that they will be training as hard as they were last year and the year before.”
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